Pakistan’s Prime Minister, President Resign

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned and dissolved Parliament Sunday, bowing to pressure from the military and opposition legislators led by his predecessor, Benazir Bhutto.

His rival, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, also resigned as part of an army-brokered agreement to end a political feud between the president and prime minister that had paralyzed the government.

The decision of Sharif and Ishaq Khan to step down was seen as a concession to the army, which has become increasingly troubled by the pair’s feud.

In Sindh province, meanwhile, at least two people died when 12 bombs exploded. Police linked the blasts to a militant student group.

Sharif announced his resignation in a nationally televised speech, and Ishaq Khan submitted his in a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly.

“The nation has faced a nerve-racking and uncertain situation. The only way to resolve this was to go to the people” through elections, Ishaq Khan said early today.

The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said elections for the lawmaking lower house of Parliament will be held Oct. 6. The legislatures of the four provinces also were dissolved and elections set for Oct. 9. Presidential elections were expected in the fall.

Before resigning, the president appointed retired generals and judges to run the provinces until the elections.

Former World Bank executive Moeen Qureshi was sworn in as a caretaker prime minister to oversee the elections. Sharif’s term would have expired in 1995.

Ishaq Khan administered the oath of office to Qureshi before turning the presidency over to the Senate chairman, Wasim Sajjad, as required by the constitution.

Bhutto had aligned herself with the president in attempts to oust Sharif in the hope that early elections would return her to power. She had no immediate comment on the resignations.

She had planned mass demonstrations in the capital Friday to press demands for early polls, but canceled them at the last minute.

The feud between Ishaq Khan and Sharif began in February when the prime minister threatened to curb the president’s power.

The president reacted by firing Sharif on charges of corruption and political ineptitude. But in May, the Supreme Court returned him to power.